Reconciliation! – April 21, 2024 – Eddington Presbyterian Church

Psalm 67, John 21:1-19
April 21, 2024

I appreciated Rev. Kari’s sermon last week! For a while, I was just having her fill in for me when I was away, and she still does that – which is great. She and Mr. Harold. But it meant that I rarely got to hear her preach. So now from time to time I have her do so when I’m here.

And at such times, I’ve learned not to plan for the next week until after I’ve heard her preach, because she always gives me something to think about! And this week was no exception!

Last week she talked about Peter, and his betrayal of Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest. Do you remember that story? Well, I hope you picked up on what she said about that! When Peter had betrayed Jesus, when he had sworn three times that he didn’t even know who he was, Jesus looked across the courtyard at him. Luke is very careful to tell us that. And as Kari said, if the resurrection hadn’t happened, that look Jesus gave him could well have been the last look Peter ever saw on the face of his master!

Did you get that? I’ve never thought of it that way before! As I’ve often said, we tend to think of Peter as the great Apostle! He was one of the pillars of the Church! Our Catholic brothers and sisters even think of him as the first Pope! But there, in that courtyard, he was a broken man, having shown the ultimate weakness in a time of crisis! And now his master, his friend, the man he had sworn he would die for, looked at him across the courtyard – and looked right through him! What a moment that was!

John doesn’t give us that particular detail about Peter’s betrayal. (Though I’m sure he would agree it happened!) However, he does give us this story for today. And this is the story of Peter’s reconciliation. And for me, thinking about these two stories together makes even more preposterous the claim I heard a person make years ago, saying that these two stories were not related. That person said that the three-fold question, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” had nothing to do with the three-fold denial that night in the courtyard. It was just a “numerical coincidence.”

As I said, I’ve always thought that was preposterous! But I’m even more sure of that now! I think that final look of Jesus across the courtyard burned in Peter’s mind! I think even after the resurrection, it gnawed at him! It haunted him! And I think it made it hard for him to face his master again.

But it’s even more than that! I think these two stories taken together, are at the heart of the Gospel. Because the Gospel is about reconciliation! In fact, these two stories are all about the meaning of the Gospel in our lives. They are the key to answering the question Kari proposed last week, “What’s it to you?!” In other words, what does the Gospel mean in your life? Well, it’s about Reconciliation.

Think about that. There are many who would be quick to say that “salvation” is the heart of the Gospel. And of course that’s true. “God sent his son into the world not to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved.” That’s John 3:17. But it’s not as simple as that. And what I mean is that it’s not as simple as Jesus coming just to remove condemnation from us. But that’s all some people see. They’ve saved from that condemnation. They dodged that bullet! But that’s it! And, the down side of that is, when they stop believing in condemnation, which many have, they have no reason to have anything to do with God!

Well, that’s not it. The Gospel is about more than just “salvation.” It’s about being reconciled to God. It’s about restoring our relationship with him. And do you know something? That’s what God wants! He doesn’t just want to save the world. He wants to be in relationship, in fellowship, in communion with us his people. People he loves so much!

We see that in this story. Again, Jesus asks this question three times. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And as John tells us, “Peter was grieved when Jesus asked him the third time!” I’ll bet he was! If he didn’t know it yet, he knew it for certain at that moment, that those questions were about reconciliation for his three-fold betrayal. Even if he had been able to put that out of his mind, in all the joy and wonder of the resurrection, there’s no doubt in my mind, that it was back in his mind at that moment.

Then think about Jesus’ response to Peter’s answer. Notice that he didn’t say that Peter was forgiven. I think it’s safe to assume he was. But instead, Jesus’ response was to say, “Feed my sheep.” That was a call to service. Wasn’t it? In fact, it was a call back to service! And that call was more than just an acknowledgment that Peter was forgiven. It was a confirmation of Peter’s reconciliation. Jesus was saying “our relationship has been restored.” You are reconciled! You’re back on the team!

Do you see that? It’s so important! Because it’s the same with us. When we think we can’t be reconciled, when memories of failures and betrayals haunt us, when we think our Lord is aware of those failures and can’t possibly forgive us, much less take us back into his kingdom – or make us part of the team again – we can go back to this story, and remember! And we can remember that Peter didn’t just muddle through the Christian faith after that, as a lesser character. He became that pillar of the Church!

Don’t we all have those things in our past that make us feel the way he felt that day? Don’t we all have those times of failure and betrayal that occasionally haunt us? (And sometimes more than occasionally!) My youth pastor growing up once said that Hell is a place where you are made to sit down and watch videos of all the mistakes and betrayals you made in your life. It’s a place where those failures that haunt you from time to time in this life, haunt you forever! That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? Well, reconciliation is when those videos are erased!

The problem is that it’s sometimes hard to deal with our feelings. We may be forgiven, but we don’t feel forgiven! We may have been made worthy in God’s kingdom, but we don’t feel worthy! We may have been reconciled to God through Jesus, but we don’t feel that reconciliation!

So what do we do? How do we get past those feelings? How do we accept Jesus’ reconciliation and believe it, like I believe Peter finally did? One of the most important ways to do that is to choose to do that! (There’s that word again!) You knew I was going to say that! We need to choose to do that! We choose to rely on God’s promises.

So, it helps us when we remember this story. Or we can read again the words of Paul – a man who truly understood reconciliation. Remember, he persecuted the Church before he was redeemed! Yet, here’s what he wrote to the Corinthians. (II Corinthians 5:18-19.) “All this is from God, who though Christ reconciled us to himself, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

That’s more than just a message of salvation, isn’t it? It’s a message about restored relationship. It’s about being part of his kingdom. It’s about being part of his body here on earth, a body in which all members are important! It’s about reconciliation!

So, we go back to the question from last week. What’s it to you? Jesus was bringing to Peter, and to us, not just salvation, but reconciliation. We are not just saved from hell, we are reconciled to God! Our relationship with Him has been restored!

So, choose to live in that relationship! Choose to be an active part of his kingdom – not just a spectator. Choose to be in relationship with God every day! That’s why he sent his son in the first place!

Prayer

Eternal God, your love for us is beyond our comprehension. Help us to be sure of our reconciliation through Jesus. Help us to know you are with us, and that your presence surrounds us, and that we are in relationship with you every day. We thank you! And we pray in Jesus’ name, and for the sake of his kingdom among us, Amen.